24 min
Ben Judah - Russia's War on Ukraine The Agenda
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- Politics
Policy Exchange is hosting a series of podcast over the next two weeks on Russia’s war on Ukraine. In the first episode Ben Judah – bestselling author of Fragile Empire: How Russia fell in and out of love with Vladimir Putin and This is London: Life and Death in the World City and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council – discusses both Britain’s clampdown on Russian oligarchs and how Europe is heading for its largest migration since World War II, with up to 1.5 million refugees having already left Ukraine. Judah argues that sanctions against Russian oligarchs might achieve little in terms of helping Ukraine – but nevertheless it is vitally important as it will wean London’s banks, lawyers and financial institutions off their addiction to Russian money. The rise of so-called Londongrad has been deeply corrupting – and cleaning it up is important for the sake of Britain.
The migration from Ukraine will only speed up if Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine continues. As with all migrations many of those leaving are likely never to return and the country will lose many of its young and able. Ties of kinship in Poland and Hungary mean that their government’s reaction to the new influx will likely continue to be much more welcoming than they were to Syrian refugees. Many Ukrainians will move to western Europe and Judah argues that Britain should make a warm offer to Ukrainian refugees who have the potential of making a considerable contribution to British life. If Russia has its way, Ukraine will become a country denuded of youth and talent – but Judah argues that this suits Putin’s gameplan just as it did with his earlier wars in Chechnya and the Donbas. All Putin’s actions suggest that he is keen for those to leave who will not accept Russian dominance.
Policy Exchange is hosting a series of podcast over the next two weeks on Russia’s war on Ukraine. In the first episode Ben Judah – bestselling author of Fragile Empire: How Russia fell in and out of love with Vladimir Putin and This is London: Life and Death in the World City and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council – discusses both Britain’s clampdown on Russian oligarchs and how Europe is heading for its largest migration since World War II, with up to 1.5 million refugees having already left Ukraine. Judah argues that sanctions against Russian oligarchs might achieve little in terms of helping Ukraine – but nevertheless it is vitally important as it will wean London’s banks, lawyers and financial institutions off their addiction to Russian money. The rise of so-called Londongrad has been deeply corrupting – and cleaning it up is important for the sake of Britain.
The migration from Ukraine will only speed up if Russia’s onslaught on Ukraine continues. As with all migrations many of those leaving are likely never to return and the country will lose many of its young and able. Ties of kinship in Poland and Hungary mean that their government’s reaction to the new influx will likely continue to be much more welcoming than they were to Syrian refugees. Many Ukrainians will move to western Europe and Judah argues that Britain should make a warm offer to Ukrainian refugees who have the potential of making a considerable contribution to British life. If Russia has its way, Ukraine will become a country denuded of youth and talent – but Judah argues that this suits Putin’s gameplan just as it did with his earlier wars in Chechnya and the Donbas. All Putin’s actions suggest that he is keen for those to leave who will not accept Russian dominance.
24 min